MAN OF THE YEAR & FACE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE 2008

Ally of true democracy:

Botswana's former President Mogae

Former President of Botswana, who last April voluntarily stepped down from office with 18 months still left of his tenure, is Africa Today's Man of the Year as well as winner of the magazine's Face of Good Governance Award 2008.

In a continent blighted by bad leadership, Botswana presents a refreshingly different picture. Unlike their counterparts in most other parts of the continent, leaders of this tiny southern African nation of about two million persons put their people first. They do not only make the economy their priority, they also refuse to yield to temptation to perpetuate themselves in office.

The most recent example of that type of leadership is Festus Gontebanye Mogae, who voluntarily stepped down as president last April. With 18 months left to finish his tenure, Mogae handed over power to his deputy, Seretse Ian Khama, a former army commander and son of Botswana's first president, Sir Seretse Khama.

By so doing, Mogae has kept alive a tradition started by the late Sir Seretse and followed by Quett Masire, who handed over power to Mogae in April 1998. But it is not only this that makes Mogae a shining example to other African leaders; this former International Monetary Fund economist did not seek power for the sake of it or for personal glorification. He wanted to serve his people and he did just that when he got the opportunity.

When Mogae assumed office as the third President of Botswana, the country, though democratically stable and economically prosperous, was being threatened by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Mogae ensured Botswana's continued stability and prosperity and also, through careful management of the country's mineral resources, engendered steady economic growth, checked inflation and attracted foreign investment.

In a continent where mineral wealth has often become a curse rather than a blessing, Mogae demonstrated how a country with natural resources can promote sustainable development with good governance. He diversified Botswana's economy away from its dependence on the extraction of diamonds, while ensuring that more of the processing and sorting of its mining wealth took place within the country. The investment of that mineral wealth in education, poverty reduction and job creation ensured that he kept his pledge to tackle these issues upon taking office.

Mogae also articulated and implemented programmes to develop education and health infrastructure; privatised strategic parts of the economy, particularly the aviation and telecommunications industries, for effective performance; as well as enforced strict anti-corruption measures that brought Botswana regular ranking as one of the least corrupt countries in Africa.

He had taken office at a time when Botswana's HIV/AIDS prevalence was among the highest in the world, posing a direct threat to the survival of the nation. He responded by combating the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, and putting in place one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programmes for dealing with the disease. While the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Botswana remains above 30 percent, the government announced last year that for the first time HIV prevalence was decreasing.

On July 14, 2007, Mogae announced his intention to resign nine months later. He kept his word despite speculations that he would finish his term and seek to elongate his stay in office, as many African leaders are won't to do.

Mogae ensured political and economic stability in Botswana

Since leaving office Mogae has continued to demonstrate his commitment to fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS. On August 5 he launched Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, a group of former African Presidents and other influential personalities, which aim to strengthen efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Apart from being a trailblazer in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Mogae is also a champion of the environment and the protection of Africa's natural resources. He is at the same time involved with a number of regional coalitions working to modernise economic conditions in southern Africa. His charitable involvements include membership in the Botswana Society of the Deaf and the Kalahari Conservation Society.

During his last days in office, Mogae, apparently at peace with himself, moved out of the State House and toured the country, bidding the people goodbye. "I retire a proud citizen," he said at a farewell rally held by the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) on March 29. "Let me advise those leaders in similar circumstances: Leave when the time for you to leave comes, and you will be embraced with love by your people," he added.

In recognition of his stellar performance in and out of office, and his voluntary relinquishing of power ahead of the expiration of his tenure, Mogae has been chosen as Africa Today's Man of the Year 2008 as well as the magazine's Face of Good Governance in Africa 2008. He emerged from a shortlist of outstanding African personalities considered by Africa Today's Board of Editors.

Mogae was chosen as the eventual winner after a marathon session in London, during which the Board also decided to confer a Special Recognition for Excellence in Good Governance Award 2008 on Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, immediate past president of Sierra Leone.

The process that led up to the emergence of the 2008 winners had begun since mid-October of 2007 with extensive consultations with various stakeholders and experts whose contributions helped ensure a foolproof and credible selection.

Before settling for Mogae, the Board took into consideration the good governance benchmarks as enunciated by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), as well as NEPAD and UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including security and development based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and poverty alleviation.

Kabbah supervised a free and fair election won by the opposition

"Convinced that Botswana, between 1999 and 2008, passionately pursued and addressed each in a balanced way, the Board of Editors of Africa Today is hereby delighted to announce Mr. Festus Gontebanye Mogae, immediate past President of Botswana, as the Africa Today Man of the Year and winner of Africa Today Face of Good Governance in Africa Award 2008," said the magazine's publishers in a statement released in London.

The Africa Today Face of Good Governance in Africa Award aims to promote democracy and good governance; engender sustainable development; advance regional integration and cooperation, and harness the tools of constructive journalism for positive growth in Africa.

The Award is given to either a sitting or immediate past head of state adjudged the best in Africa, in a particular year. It is noted for its rigorous and meticulous process and credibility.

Previous winners of the award include the immediate past President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor. The world-acclaimed Jamaican intellectual, Professor Nettleford, was the guest lecturer at the 2002 awards ceremony.

Born August 21, 1939, in Serowe, Botswana; son of Dihabano and Dithunya Mogae; Festus Mogae had his primary and secondary education at home before travelling to England for higher education. He attended North West London Polytechnic and went on to earn an honours degree at Oxford, later receiving a graduate degree in developmental economics from Sussex University. He became a family man in 1968 when he married Barbara Modise and eventually had three daughters.

Mogae has a long history of political activism dating back to 1966 when Botswana, until then a British crown colony, was granted independence. He soon became member of a group of young, educated politicians in the new government. He is a long-term member of BDP, which has dominated Botswana's political landscape since independence. Mogae's government service began in 1968 when he was appointed a planning officer in the Ministry of Development and Planning (restructured into the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in 1970). He progressed steadily, becoming senior planning officer in 1971, director of economic affairs for the ministry in 1972, and permanent secretary from 1975 to 1976.

From 1982 to 1989 Mogae served as permanent secretary to then President Masire, and was named minister of finance and development planning in 1989. During his days as finance minister, Botswana enjoyed budget surpluses for 10 straight years. In Botswana politics, the post of finance minister is often equated with that of the vice-president, and in March of 1992 Masire elevated Mogae to that office.

Upon complementing Masire's unfinished tenure, Mogae successfully contested for the presidency and was sworn-in for a five-year term on October 20, 1999. The man described by The Namibian as "a no-nonsense politician . . . steeped in the world of economics and high finance," won re-election in the October 2004 general polls and was sworn-in for another term.

Pursuing his poverty reduction and anti-HIV/AIDS programmes with renewed vigour, Mogae took HIV/AIDS test publicly and addressed the issue in almost every one of his speeches. So much was his impact on the war against HIV/AIDS that lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs are now known in Botswana as "Mogae's tablets."

Even so, Mogae's administration was not without its fair share of controversies. Among his unpopular actions was the forcible eviction of the Bushmen from their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002. The Bushmen were also banned from hunting and gathering, an action which was declared "unlawful and unconstitutional" by the Botswana High Court in 2006.

In another act of intolerance and highhandedness, Mogae in the twilight of his administration expelled a leading expatriate academic for publicly criticising him and his chosen successor. Professor Kenneth Good, a political analyst at the University of Botswana, was given only two days to leave the country after criticising Mogae's management style and Khama's record as commander of the Botswana Defence Force, particularly with regard to the awarding of tenders.

But such excesses do not significantly detract from Mogae's positive legacy. As Christiaan Poortman of Transparency International, the Berlin-based rights watchdog, said: "Mogae is a man with a very great reputation for being a very responsible, transparent and accountable leader . . . He is indeed a role model that one would like to see followed."

Little wonder then that unlike the neighbouring nations of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the Botswana of Mogae's era enjoyed a long history of political stability.

With an increasing number of African leaders such as the legendary Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Senegal's Abdou Diouf, Sierra Leone's Kabbah and lately Kufuor of Ghana voluntarily leaving at the expiration of their tenures, rather than perpetuating themselves in office, Africa may one day become just like Botswana: a showcase for democracy.

Mogae Factfile

Educated at Sussex and Oxford; studied economics

Married Barbara Gemma Modise in 1968; children: three daughters.

Permanent Secretary to the President; 1975-1976, 1982-1989

Vice-President of Botswana; 1992-1999

Elected President for a five-year term; Oct. 1999

Re-elected; Oct. 2004

Voluntarily stepped down April 2008, 18 months before end of tenure

Launched Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, Aug. 2008

Appointed UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, Sept 2008

Member of Botswana Society of the Deaf, Kalahari Conservation Society, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Parliamentarians for Global Action, Global Coalition for Africa.

Awards: Officier, Ordre National de la Cote d'Ivoire, 1979; Presidential Order of Honour of Botswana, 1989; Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy March 20, 2008 for his "exemplary leadership" in making Botswana a "model" of democracy and good governance.